


Broken Wings

by MCRmyGeneral



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Apologies, Broken Wings, Bruises, Demetreli, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Frottage, Get it?, I haven't posted in three years okay? Give me a break, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm also bad at summaries, Is ‘Demetreli’ a thing yet?, Like the Mr Mister Song, Listen the summary sucks but I promise the story's not bad, M/M, Mohawks, Nerds in Love, Rebuilding Trust, Slight Pain Kink, Soft!Eli, Trust Issues, Wounds, a bit of canon exploration, but like, but not exactly sex, horny teenage boys, i'm so funny, karate brawl aftermath, lots of internal struggle, make-up sex, so lovers to enemies to lovers, the title is a pun, they were lovers first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:14:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28648131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCRmyGeneral/pseuds/MCRmyGeneral
Summary: He hated what he’d done to the boy. Now he just needed to show him that underneath the mohawk and hair dye, Eli was still there. How do you apologize for this much all at once? How do you make up for kicks, punches, a destroyed dojo and a broken arm? How do you come back from that? Is it even possible? Eli wished he knew. Either way, he would try like hell. He wouldn't let a shattering bone be the end of it between him and Demetri.OrEli has a lot to apologize for; but the most important to him right now is getting his best friend to forgive him for the last year of karate feuding that he somehow was responsible for dragging Demetri into. Second on his list is making sure that the boy knows that some things never change.
Relationships: Demetri/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Comments: 13
Kudos: 196





	Broken Wings

“Let me bring you home.”

Demetri froze, and it broke Eli’s heart. He could tell, even though the boy was facing away from him, in the way his shoulders stiffened just barely, the way the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Demetri inhaled slowly and tried his damndest to fight a shudder. He hated that the thought of being alone with Eli made him shudder. Everything was so fucked up. And yeah, Eli had saved his ass just an hour ago, but for all Demetri knew, the boy was just luring him into a false sense of security so the Cobra Kai goons could strike when Miyagi-Do’s guard was down. Demetri sighed. He sounded like he was orchestrating a well-thought out game of Risk, and he hated that this is what his life had become. Their lives. Him and his best friend. Him and all his friends. Half of him hated this karate bullshit, hated the way his friends' lives had imploded so quickly. It was never supposed to be this way. They were just supposed to be learning to defend themselves, not turning the Valley into a war zone. But the other half knew that this fight wasn’t their fault, and that brought him at least a little peace. No, this fight was Cobra Kai’s fault, Tory’s fault, that psychopath Kreese’s fault. And even though he hated admitting it, it was Eli’s fault, too.

He cleared his throat to lubricate it; his mouth had dried up like a sponge when he’d heard Eli’s voice behind him. He didn’t turn around when he spoke. He couldn’t; he knew he’d see either guilt or malice on Eli’s face, and he wasn’t sure which one was worse.

“That’s fine; I came with Chris, he’ll drop me off,” He tossed over his shoulder, hoping it didn’t sound as stressed as the boy felt. He swept the last few chunks of the broken window he could reach into the dustpan, but he didn’t move to stand. He knew Eli was still standing behind him, looking down on him. At least now it was physically, not metaphorically, the way Eli had been looking down on him for the past year.

More glass crunched behind him as a pair of Vans took a step closer, almost too close, and it made Demetri flinch. You’d think he’d be used to the noise by now, with all the destruction he’d been part of recently. But the tinkling of shattered glass hitting a hard floor brought Demetri back to the hallway, to that day just a few months ago.

Months? No, that can’t be possible. God, it felt like years. Years since his best and pretty much only friend had stalked him through the school, teasing and taunting him like the villain in a horror movie. Years since his favorite person in the world, his only constant in the last ten years full of moves and divorces and new husbands and new baby sisters had made him feel… afraid. He’d never been afraid of Eli before, he’d never had to. It felt like years since he landed that one lucky kick that had sent Eli sailing into the trophy case, chunks of sharp, jagged glass raining down on his unconscious body as the students around them cheered. Demetri had tossed a callous “Sorry” to his friend, but he still felt his stomach turn with anxiety as he watched glass tumble down on Eli’s head. He’d hoped then and thanked God afterward that none of the splinters had cut the boy’s face. He couldn’t handle seeing another scar on Eli’s face, especially if he’d been the one that put it there. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

A warm hand settled on Demetri’s shoulder, and he jumped, jerking the dustpan and sending the glass bits flying to the floor again.

Yeah, he really fucking hated the sound of broken glass.

Eli had yanked his hand away from Demetri the instant the boy had flinched. There was an ache in his chest when he saw his best friend’s reaction to his touch. Usually, his touch comforted Demetri; he’d told Eli before, more than once. And now the taller boy recoiled away from him.

What had Eli let himself become? This was Demetri. This was his best friend. They’d shared comic books and school lunches and secrets and beds during sleepovers and clothes and porno mags for years. Brothers, they’d once called themselves. Now look at them. Demetri was _afraid_ of him. Fucking _afraid_. A year ago, Eli would’ve scoffed at that and quipped that Demetri was afraid of everything. Even a week ago, he would’ve smiled proudly, like the twisted sociopath Kreese had been grooming him to be. But Demetri was stronger now. Taller, more muscular, trained to kick ass. The boy wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

Just of Eli. And that thought made Eli’s stomach turn. He almost had to run over to the sink; the thought made bile rise in his throat, and for a second, he thought he was going to throw up. He hated what he’d become. He _broke_ Demetri’s fucking _arm_. He was _so_ going to Hell.

He didn’t blame Demetri for still hating him, for not trusting him. He’d done horrible, horrible things to him. You were supposed to love your friends, and he did love Demetri, in his own weird way. It wasn’t until he saw the boy tangled up by two Cobras, helpless and looking so much like the Demetri he’d known since grade school, that he knew this had to stop. He couldn’t let him get hurt again. He’d suffered so much already; everyone had, of course, but Demetri’s torture was mostly Eli’s own doing. Even when they were rivals, he wouldn’t let any of his teammates get near the boy. No, Demetri was reserved for Eli, and that made it even worse. He hated what he’d done to the boy. Now he just needed to show him that underneath the mohawk and hair dye, Eli was still there. How do you apologize for this much all at once? How do you make up for kicks, punches, a destroyed dojo and a broken arm? How do you come back from that?

Is it even possible? Eli wished he knew. Either way, he would try like hell. He wouldn't let a shattering bone be the end of it between him and Demetri.

Eli crouched down beside Demetri, remembering that animals were less threatened by potential predators when they were eye-level. He grimaced in disgust when he thought of himself as a predator, and Demetri as prey. He needed to stop thinking shit like that; it was what made him turn to the Sith side in the first place. He was the same kid he’d always been. The same nerd that cried on Demetri’s shoulder in the darkened movie theater when Dobby died. He’d teared up and leaned his head on Demetri’s shoulder, and Demetri had slipped a long, lanky arm around him and pulled him even closer, into his shoulder to quiet his sobs without a second thought. And now Demetri couldn’t even stand to be touched by him, like he was toxic. Shit. He fucking was. He’d let himself be brainwashed by a sick haircut, a little popularity, and fucking Kreese. He could see it now, clear as day. It was exactly that; brainwashing. Miguel and Sensei Lawrence and Demetri had been right all along.

“Hey,” Eli whispered, tentatively reaching out for Demetri’s shoulder once again. He just needed to touch him, just once without anger. He didn’t know why he needed it, but he did.

Demetri cowered a bit, backed away for just a second until he saw the begging look in Eli’s eyes. He stilled, and Eli set his hand on the boy’s broad, muscled (Jesus, when did _that_ happen?) shoulder, like he had before. Eli kept his touch light, gentle, careful not to break Demetri again.

“Please, Dem,” He pleaded softly.

That made Demetri inhale sharply. He hadn’t heard Eli sound like himself in over a year. He hadn’t heard that name in a year. Hearing Eli call him that again made his cheeks and belly warm. Eli looked like he was about to cry, and Demetri felt like he was, too.

Eli peeked over his shoulder to the rest of the kids in the house, set up on couches and ottomans in Sam’s living room like a makeshift hospital. Sam tended to the wounded, giving Miguel an ice pack before turning and smoothing a few bandages on Bert’s forehead to seal the gash he’d gotten when he was thrown through the kitchen window, the very same kitchen window that he and Demetri were cleaning up now. The others were too busy licking their wounds to notice the boys crouched together in the kitchen, almost too close.

Knowing that there were no eyes on him, Eli trailed his hand down Demetri’s shoulder to his bicep, proud of the goosebumps he could see rise on the boy’s neck. He squeezed the arm once, gently, almost expecting to feel the break. “Did it- Did it heal okay?”

Demetri rolled his eyes. “Yeah. At least it was a clean break,” He threw at Eli. Then he saw tears well in the boy’s eyes and his lip shook. Eli looked away from him, up to the ceiling.

“Don’t,” He almost begged, and then he chuckled once. “Actually, go ahead. I fucking deserve it,” He said, his voice watery and shaking.

Demetri’s jaw dropped. This was Eli. This was his best friend. He hadn’t seen this boy in a year. “You’re crying,” He whispered.

“No, I’m not,” Eli sniffled before rubbing his face on his sleeve, leaving dark trails in the fabric.

Demetri nodded, mostly to himself, and stood. Eli didn’t move until Demetri nudged him, handing him the dustpan when Eli finally looked up at him.

“Help me sweep. Then we can leave.”

Only half of Eli’s mouth cocked into a smile, but it was the brightest, most beautifully beaming smile Demetri had ever seen on Eli’s face, and once again, it made his belly warm. Demetri offered him his own half smile before he turned around and started sweeping up the glass for the second time.

********

“Your father gave you the Escalade?”

Eli scoffed and chuckled at Demetri’s dropped jaw. “Fuck, no. But he’s in Colorado at a business meeting, so I get to whip the Caddy for the next three days.”

Demetri couldn’t help it; he laughed as the boys climbed into the front seat. But that laugh was short lived, because as soon as the doors shut, an uncomfortable silence enveloped the two once more. The air between them was thick with words unspoken, and Demetri hated it.

Eli saved his ass, that was true. But he’d also spent the last few months kicking it. Their once immaculate relationship was tattered and torn now. And he wasn’t sure that a simple apology and high five was gonna fix it. He still didn’t feel exactly comfortable being alone with Eli, for one reason or another. Thankfully, the drive between Sam’s and Demetri’s houses was a short one, because Demetri was fidgeting before they left the neighborhood.

“You can turn the radio on if you want,” Was all that Eli could manage, and he hated it. He had a million things he wanted to say to Demetri, a million things he wanted to apologize for. He organized the last year in his head as he drove, listing in chronological order everything he had done wrong, everything he had fucked up. And he intended to apologize for every single incident. He was sorry, he was so fucking sorry for turning on the one person that had always been there for him. The person (not counting Miguel) that had never made fun of his lip, the person that always let him spend the night when his parents were fighting, the person that bought him his first Dungeons and Dragons dice set. Demetri was more than just Eli’s friend, more than just his best friend. Demetri was always there for Eli, no matter what issues he’d brought to the table.

Eli was suddenly brought back to the moment he knew that what he and Demetri had was something more than mere friendship. They had been friends for three years, were on the cusp of middle school when Eli’s parents had started fighting. Eli was, by nature, a shy, sensitive kid, and the screaming matches his parents would put on, fights that Demetri had even witnessed on more than one occasion had left the boy with horrible nightmares. And those nightmares had left Eli with, for a little while, at least, a pretty severe case of sleep enuresis, or even more embarrassingly, bed-wetting.

Demetri wasn’t lying when he had told Moon’s entire party that Eli was a bedwetter. He just left out some important details, like that the bedwetting was stress-induced and caused by the nightmares he'd been having, worsened by Eli’s ADHD, and that it only lasted for a year, until his parents had settled their arguments.

It wasn't all purposely misleading information. Demetri’s mother _had_ grown tired of stripping Demetri’s bed and washing the sheets over and over, and eventually she did buy an air mattress specifically for Eli’s weekend sleepovers, and though she brought it up to him as sweetly and gently as possible, the second she left the room, Eli had broken down in embarrassed tears. Demetri, naturally, had rushed over to him, hugged him tightly and guided him down onto his bed, where he cradled the crying boy for nearly an hour.

“God, what a freaking loser,” Eli had sneered between gasping breaths. “I don’t even know why you talk to me.”

Demetri had pulled back just a little, just enough to brush the hair off Eli’s forehead. “Don’t be stupid. I talk to you because you’re fun. You make me laugh, and you’re the only person I’ve ever met that’s as smart as I am. I didn’t want this stupid air mattress in the first place,” He assured Eli, kicking the inflated plastic mattress on his bedroom floor for emphasis. “I’d rather have you in the same bed as me.”

Eli sniffled. “Seriously?”

“I promise. Who cares if I have to wash my sheets every weekend? I needed to start washing them more, anyway.”

Eli had smiled and hugged Demetri back, and when Demetri’s mother had walked in to wake them the next morning, she found the two in Demetri’s bed, backs pressed against each other’s, the mattress on the floor completely abandoned. She deflated it, rolled it back up, and stuck it in the hall closet where it collected dust for years. After that, Demetri had never woken up with wet sheets again.

“Thanks for the ride,” Demetri said awkwardly as Eli pulled into the drive outside his house, breaking the silence that had allowed the boy to dredge up memories that just made him feel like even more of an asshole, and bringing him back to the here and now. _Add distracted driving to all the stupid shit I've done lately_ , he thought.

“I figured I owed you,” Eli responded softly.

Demetri didn’t respond, he just unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. A hand reached out and grabbed his arm, and he flinched again.

“Jesus, Eli!”

“Please stop flinching, Demetri! I’m not gonna hurt you!” Eli nearly yelled, louder than he intended.

Demetri cocked an eyebrow and scoffed. “I’ve heard that from you before.”

Ouch. Demetri’s words could just as well have been a slap to the face; it would’ve hurt less. “That’s not fair,” Eli whispered, and Demetri just sighed. “You know I’m sorry.”

“I-” Demetri cut himself off, “I appreciate that, I really do. But it’s not such a simple fix.”

“You think I don’t know that? You think that _I_ think that two stupid words are gonna fix this? This relationship that I shattered? I know better. I just…”

“Just what?”

Eli looked up from the steering wheel to meet Demetri’s eyes. “Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah, um, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. My mom and step-dad are-” Demetri stammered.

“You mom and step-dad aren’t here; the driveway’s empty,” Eli pointed out.

“Oh,” Demetri balked at getting caught in his own lie.

“Look, don’t do me any favors; God knows I haven’t done you any recently. If you don’t want me to come in, I won’t. If you don’t want things to go back to how they were, just tell me. I’m a big boy, I can take it. And I wouldn’t blame you, anyway.”

As expected from someone as riddled with anxiety as Demetri was, he didn’t like change. He _certainly_ didn't like Eli's metamorphosis into Hawk; he wanted the old Eli back, he wanted them to be Binary Brothers again. “Yeah,” He finally threw over his shoulder as he climbed out of the car, “Come on in.”

Eli sighed in relief. This was a good sign. The boys walked up the driveway together, until Demetri paused at the front door. 

“Shit,” He swore, tapping his pockets, “My keys. They must have fallen out of my pocket when-“ He cut himself off as Eli softly pushed past him, reaching up into the pot of the hanging plant next to the door. Eli pulled his hand out a second later and offered up a cold brass key to Demetri, who scoffed and smiled.

“For someone as smart as you are, it always amazed me that you could never remember where the spare key was hidden.”

Something swelled in Demetri’s chest. The way Eli was smiling at him, he looked like _Eli_ again. Demetri took the key, and the chance to brush his fingers along Eli’s hand.

“Thanks,” He said softly. The fact that Eli still remembered where the spare key was made something tighten in Demetri’s chest, though he wasn’t sure what. He gave the key back to Eli to return to the flower pot and led the boy into his house.

The house was so familiar, yet it felt like Eli hadn’t been here in years. Demetri didn’t bother to turn on the lights as the boys walked through the house toward the kitchen, which somehow made the house seem even more foreign. A sharp pang of guilt stabbed Eli in the stomach. Over the years, Demetri’s family had become his own, and he’d let himself become a stranger.

“What did you tell your parents?” He blurted out before he could stop himself.

Demetri cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” He asked over his shoulder as he half-walked, half-limped over to the freezer.

Eli’s eyes were glued to the boy’s long legs as he walked, his frown setting in even deeper with every pained step Demetri took. “When I stopped coming around. Did your parents ask about me? What about Zoe?”

Demetri turned around, arm still in the ice bin, and glared at Eli. “Unbelievable,” He scoffed, shaking his head.

“What?”

The freezer door slammed shut and Demetri pressed the ice pack he now held against the deepening bruises on his battered face. Eli jumped at the noise, not expecting that kind of aggression from his once timid friend. Although he wasn’t sure why he didn’t expect it. He knew what Demetri was capable of, especially recently.

“Unbelievable that you care more about my mom and little sister than you do about me. I don’t give a fuck if Mom and Zoe missed you; _I_ missed you! Did you ever think about that?” He threw at Eli before he leaned over the island, head in one hand and ice pack in the other.

“Shit,” Eli swore, mostly to himself. He had never heard Demetri say ‘fuck’ before; he was way beyond pissed. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah,” Demetri scoffed again, “I know you didn’t. Yes, they asked about you. I told them that between the karate training and the new job, you didn’t have much free time.”

“New job?” He asked, smiling despite himself.

“If my mom asks, you’re parking cars at the Hilton across town.”

Eli’s jaw dropped. “A valet?” He laughed. “You told them I was a fucking valet?”

He tried to stay stoic, but the warm laughter coming from his best friend cracked him, and Demetri couldn’t help but join in and laugh, too. He laughed for only a second before his ribs started aching. His laughter turned to groans and he held his stomach.

“Are you okay?” Eli asked genuinely, taking a step toward the boy with his arm outstretched.

Demetri looked side-eyed at the hand extended toward him for longer than he intended before he answered. “I’m fine.”

“You’re doing it again,” Eli pointed out angrily, dropping his hand and shoving them both in his pockets.

“Doing what?”

“Brushing me off.”

“No, I’m not,” Demetri lied.

“Yes, you are! Listen, Demetri, I know some shit’s gone down between us, and I know that I betrayed you, and I’m sorry, okay? But you have to stop looking at me like that!”

“Like what?” Demetri demanded, tossing the dripping ice pack into the sink behind him and stepping around the island, closer to Eli. To his surprise, Eli shrunk backwards until the door frame pushed between his shoulder blades.

“Like I’m a stranger. Like I’m the enemy.”

“Until two hours ago, you _were_ the enemy, Eli! And don’t give me that shit about making you out to be the enemy, because you did that, not me!”

“I-” Eli cut himself off with a huff and stared up at the ceiling. “I was stupid, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I was weak, I let this stupid karate get into my head and Stockholm Syndrome me into something I’m not. You know me better than anyone, Demetri! You know that’s not who I really am.”

“I don’t, though,” Demetri whispered.

“What?”

“I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I know you helped me, you saved me from those dicks tonight. But I can’t shake this feeling that it’s all just another act. That any second, you’re gonna turn back into the asshole you’ve been and I’m gonna end up with another broken bone.”

“You know that’s not true!” Eli yelled. “How many times do I have to apologize?”

“It’s not that easy, Eli! I don’t trust you anymore! And I’ve always been able to trust you!”

“You _can_ trust me! I promise, I’m still Eli. The same Eli that slept in your bed every weekend for eight years. The same Eli that cosplayed with you at Comic Con last Summer! What’s it gonna take to prove it to you? You want me to lose the mohawk?” He asked, fisting a hand in his hair for emphasis, and unintentionally ripping out a few blazing red strands that fell to the kitchen floor, “Fine, it’s gone tomorrow! Laser off the tattoos? I’ve got insurance. What will it take to prove to you, Dem?”

Demetri’s face softened. “You said it again,” He whispered, so low that almost he couldn’t hear it.

Eli smiled gently. “Did you really think I’d forget?” He took a step closer to Demetri, reaching out to grab the boy’s hand and place it on his chest. “I remember the first time I called you that, I remember exactly which Doctor Who episode we were watching, I remember exactly which comic you had sitting open in your lap. I am still Eli. _Your_ Eli.”

Demetri’s eyes were glued to where his hand was still pressed against Eli’s chest, Eli’s hand still clamped on top of it. He could feel Eli’s heartbeat in his fingertips, could feel the heavy rise and fall of Eli’s chest as his breathing got deeper. Finally, he walked his eyes up to meet Eli’s.

“ _My_ Eli? Still?”

Eli exhaled a shuddering breath. “Look, I know I’ve done some fucked up shit lately. I’ve got a lot to apologize for, a lot to make up for, especially to you. I hate that I hurt you. For a long time, you were the only person I cared about. I never stopped caring about you. And I will prove it to you. I will spend the next ten years of my life making it up to you, if you’ll let me. I will never hurt you again, and I will never let anyone else hurt you, either. Tell me what I have to do, and I’ll do it, Dem. I still…” He paused to exhale through his nose and pull the boy’s hand off his chest, twisting his fingers in between Demetri’s. “I still love you, Dem.”

Demetri’s lungs couldn’t hold oxygen anymore. He couldn’t breathe fast enough. He’d been dreaming about hearing those words from Eli’s lips for the better part of a year, hoping to God that he’d hear them again someday. It had been too long. Eli was apparently looking for an answer, and when Demetri took too long, the boy yanked firmly but gently on his arm, pulling him away from the counter he was leaning on and into his body, dropping his hand to wrap around his slender hips instead.

Like second nature, Demetri fell into Eli perfectly, his head resting on Eli’s shoulder, one hand coming up to curl around his neck and the other dropping to slip around his waist. He was hard, muscle taking over where baby fat used to be. He wasn’t as soft and comfortable as he once was, but Eli was right; this was the body Demetri knew, the body Demetri had spent countless nights hugging under the covers. Demetri had kissed every inch of this body, had done sinful things to and with this body, had been for nearly two years before Cobra Kai came along. He breathed in deeply, the scent of Eli’s slightly musky sweat clung to his skin, remnants of the fight he’d brought straight to Sam’s doorstep. There was a metallic element, the dried blood on his skin, but it was so thoroughly Eli that Demetri had to fight tears.

“Eli, it’s really you,” He gasped against the boy’s neck.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Dem. I can’t believe what I’ve done," Eli huffed, blinking slowly and nuzzling his nose into Demetri's hair, "Please tell me I can make it up to you. How can I make it up to you?”

Demetri set his hand on Eli’s chin, tilting his head so the two could lock eyes. “We’ll figure it out. For now, I’m just happy that you’re you again. I missed you.”

Eli smiled and set the hand not on Demetri’s waist on his neck, pulling him in gently. When their lips finally touched, a homesick ache stronger than anything Eli had ever felt rushed through his chest, and he felt for a second like he might be having a heart attack. Then Demetri pulled away and nuzzled his head into the crook of his neck again, and the ache dulled to a warmth that touched every single nerve ending in his entire body.

“And for the record, I like the mohawk. It makes you look tall.”

“Taller than you.”

Demetri pulled back just enough so that Eli could see him cock an eyebrow at him “Don’t push it, _Hawk_.”

Eli grimaced. “Don’t call me that. It doesn’t sound right. To you, _for_ you, I just want to be Eli.”

“You always will.”

Demetri kissed Eli again, this one less sweet, more heated. After a second, he parted his lips and was eagerly met with a warm tongue on his own.

He didn’t have anything, really, to compare it to, at least until Yasmine recently. But Demetri couldn’t imagine anyone kissing him the way Eli did. Maybe it was the years they spent as best friends before that one sleepover that kickstarted the most thrilling aspect of his life. Even compared to all-out karate brawls in malls and high schools, nothing since has given Demetri the same adrenaline rush as when he woke up in the middle of the night to Eli moaning in his sleep, the blanket they shared tented at his waist. Demetri had flushed beet red and was just about to roll over, try to go back to sleep and forget the blissed-out look that graced Eli’s beautiful face even in his sleep, when he heard the whisper.

“Dem,” Eli breathed.

Demetri’s eyes went so wide, it hurt. He didn’t want to believe that it was Eli’s special nickname for him that he had heard whispered sinfully from the boy’s slack mouth, it was probably just a whine or something. Demetri made the same unintelligible noises when he jerked off. He almost had himself convinced when Eli spoke again, more clearly this time.

“Yes, fuck yes. God, please touch me, Demetri,” He gasped.

Demetri, who had been nursing a semi since he first heard the moaning, hardened in an instant. He listened to Eli moan for just a second more, until he fucking _whimpered_ , and then the boy could no longer keep his hands to himself. He, for the first time in his life, threw caution to the wind, reached over and slipped his hand down the front of Eli’s flannel pajama pants. Eli’s skin was red hot, and the moment Demetri’s cold hand wrapped around his erection, his eyes flew open.

“Dem, what are-” He cut himself off with a sharp gasp as Demetri dipped his thumb into the slit of Eli’s cock. “Oh, _God_ ,” He groaned.

“Shhhhh!” Demetri warned with a laugh. He was almost hysteric. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. This wasn’t like him. He didn’t like change, he didn’t take risks. Except with Eli. Touching Eli was a risk he’d take again and again. “You literally asked for this,” He teased Eli as he continued touching him.

“I thought I was-Jesus, dreaming,” Eli said as his back arched and his eyes slipped closed.

“Guess your dreams came true,” Demetri said, and it was just as cheesy out loud as it was in his head. But he was drunk on lust; this was the single hottest thing he’d ever experienced, even better than porn.

Eli laughed once before pulling Demetri flush against himself. He surprised the other boy by kissing him without hesitation and swinging his leg over Demetri’s waist, climbing on top and straddling him so they both could get friction. Demetri pulled his hand from Eli’s pants and instead wrapped it around his back, pulling him even closer as the two horny boys rutted against each other as silently as they could. Eli rolled his hips and Demetri couldn’t help himself; he thrust upwards, cocks pressing together sinfully, separated by just four layers of clothing. Eli was making the most delicious noises, moaning into Demetri’s mouth, and he was lying' _this_ was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced. Eli admittedly did most of the work and came first, Demetri not long after, with his sharp fingers digging into Eli’s hips as he rolled his body, Eli clawing at Demetri’s bare chest. Eli didn’t stop making noise the entire time, leaning down to breath and moan and whisper in Demetri’s ear, praising him on how pretty he was and how good he felt as Demetri finally let himself go.

Almost immediately after, Eli dismounted the boy, but he pulled Demetri to him and hugged him, falling back asleep quickly. Demetri was worried that he would deny anything ever happened in the morning, but when he woke up the next morning to Eli kissing his neck and rubbing his thigh against the bulge in his pants, Demetri was no longer worried that Eli was about to spiral into a gay panic.

Eli had always known him better than Demetri knew himself. He knew exactly which spots on his body were extra-sensitive, so when his hand wandered into the taller boy’s hair and tugged gently, he knew exactly how Demetri would react; with a low, drawn-out moan that Eli swallowed eagerly.

“God, I missed you, Dem,” Eli whispered against his lips as his hands moved from the boy’s hair to his shoulders, slipping underneath the flannel overshirt and sliding it to the ground.

Demetri stopped for a second, and Eli wanted to kick his own ass for rushing and moving way too fast. He’d just broken the kid’s goddamn arm; he was an idiot for thinking Demetri would be past that already and willing to take him to bed. But Demetri surprised him by rushing in to capture his mouth in another searing kiss, all teeth and tongue as he too nearly ripped the jacket off Eli’s shoulders.

Eli chuckled sinfully and once his arms were free, he clamped a hand on either side of Demetri’s face, keeping him as close as possible as he licked into the boy’s mouth. Demetri fisted his hand in Eli’s shirt and walked backwards, Eli smiling as he immediately recognized the familiar path to the boy’s bedroom.

Neither boy bothered to flip the light on in the bedroom, and the only reason they closed the door wasn’t because they stopped to, but because Eli had wrapped his hands around Demetri’s thighs and lifted him up, the boy’s bony ankles locking together behind Eli as he spun them and braced Demetri against the bedroom door.

“Be careful, Eli; I’m not as short as I was a year ago,” Demetri breathed, clawing at the back of Eli’s shirt as the boy pulled on the front of his, pulling the neckline down so he could bite the pale skin of the boy’s neck, soothing the welts he left with kisses.

“I’m stronger than I was a year ago,” He countered, his lips still dragging across the boy’s incredibly pronounced collarbone. “And while we’re confessing,” He added, finally looking up from the spattering of purple hickeys he’d already left on Demetri, “The bruises make you look really fucking hot,” He admitted with the cock of an eyebrow. He kept one arm wrapped around Demetri’s waist for support, and with the other, he gently touched the red and purple spots on his face.

Demetri hissed, and Eli immediately withdrew his hand, which made the other boy chuckle. “It’s fine. It hurts, but… I kinda like it,” He confessed, and oh, god, that was fucking hot. Demetri had a pain kink? How in the two of fooling around did Eli not notice that Demetri had a pain kink? He was disappointed in himself for not picking up on it earlier, yet very intrigued to explore it further. Maybe not now, not right away after everything that had gone down between them, but one day, he wanted to know just how deep this went.

Eli turned and carried Demetri to the end of the bed, where he gently let him down. Demetri sat on the edge of his bed and pulled Eli in between his spread legs, pushing his t-shirt up until Eli got the message, nearly ripping the shirt off and tossing it to the floor, wilting the mohawk slightly in the process.

“Good god,” Demetri breathed as he walked his eyes across the chiseled stomach in front of him.

“What?”

“Nothing, just… holy freaking abs,” Demetri chuckled, emphasizing his point by dipping the tip of his tongue into the valleys on Eli’s stomach, tracing the lines between the muscles and leaving wet trails over the boy’s skin. Eli threw his head back and moaned.

“You didn’t have these the last time we fooled around.”

“Yeah, well,” Eli countered, reaching down to grab at the back of Demetri’s shirt, pulling it off the boy and tossing it behind him. He set his hands on the muscles on either side of Demetri’s neck, kneading them gently, “You didn’t have _these_ the last time we fooled around. I guess not all the changes this past year have been bad.”

Instead of arguing, Demetri opted for pressing open-mouthed kisses to the v’s on Eli’s hips that dipped below his waistband and started tugging the pants down his hips. Eli sunk his hands back into Demetri’s silky hair, gripping but not pulling.

“Fuck, Dem,” Eli gasped. He pushed the boy back onto his bed and leaned over him, running his tongue over one nipple, then the other as he returned the favor and worked at getting Demetri’s jeans unzipped.

“Oh, God,” Demetri moaned below him. His nipples were sensitive, and Eli knew it. He felt a smile creep onto the lips on his chest, and before he knew it, Eli had ripped his jeans off in a single tug. The boy leaned up on his elbows, his boxers tented, and watched with lust-lidded eyes as Eli took a step backward and made one hell of a show of slowly peeling off his track pants.

Eli’s body was ridiculous, lean and toned all over. Demetri couldn’t keep his hands off it, splaying his long fingers over the boy’s ribs as Eli leaned back over him. He crawled onto the bed, in between Demetri’s open legs and lowered himself onto the boy, pressing together everywhere they could. Demetri threw his head back as a hard body settled on top of him, and a hard cock pressed against his own.

Eli set the hand he wasn’t leaning on on Demetri’s neck and lowered himself to press another searing kiss to the boy’s bitten lips. He swirled his tongue against Demetri’s and he moaned into the boy’s mouth.

“That’s so hot,” Demetri mumbled against Eli’s lips.

The boy pulled back. “What is?”

For the first time that night, Demetri blushed bright pink from his temples all the way to his bitten and bruised collarbone. “Hearing you moan. Hearing what I do to you,” He admitted, sounding almost embarrassed.

Eli smiled fondly before rocking his hips, which made Demetri hiss. “Feel that?” He asked smugly, “ _That’s_ what you do to me.”

Demetri gasped and hooked his ankles together behind Eli, locking the boy into place. “Eli, please,” He begged, his hair sticking to his face as he threw his head back.

“Please _what_?” Eli asked, and he intended to sound teasing, but instead, it made Demetri stiffen, and not in the good way. Eli took notice immediately, and he put as much distance between them as he could. “Dem?”

Fear coursed through Demetri’s body for a split second. That didn’t sound like Eli. It sounded like ‘Hawk’. It wasn’t anything new. Eli was always capable of getting a little aggressive when they fooled around. But before ‘Hawk’ had come into the picture, it was simply ‘Horny Eli’. But the tone that once sent a shiver directly to Demetri’s cock now sent cold sweat down his back. He jumped when a warm hand settled on his cheek, and he was met with blazing blue eyes.

“Dem. It’s me, I promise.”

“I know,” Demetri nodded, mentally kicking himself in the ass. This wasn’t anyone but Eli here with him, and he knew that. Nobody but Eli would be crawling all over him, sharing breath and kisses and touches. He nodded again and smiled. “I know.”

The smile was returned, and Eli set in again, kissing the boy’s long neck as their hips rocked in tandem. It didn’t take long for Demetri to recover, and soon again the room was filled with moans and gasps and sharp breaths as both boys got even closer to that sweet release.

“Eli,” Demetri warned, clawing at the boy’s back. He couldn’t see it, but he knew he was leaving deep red welts across his skin, and he knew that they would ache and burn in the morning, but he didn’t feel the least bit guilty. He figured after all Eli had dished out on him recently, he got a few free passes.

“I know,” Eli responded to Demetri’s unspoken words as he claimed his mouth again. The friction between them intensified as both boys put more force into their thrusts, rutting against each other almost painfully at the point. It almost hurt, but it hurt so good. Eli kissed his way to Demetri’s ear, biting firmly on his earlobe. “Come on, Dem. I wanna see you cum, it’s been way too long. You’re fucking hot when you cum. The faces you make. I wanna see it. Please, baby.”

Demetri groaned at the words whispered against his skin. Eli calling him ‘Dem’ made his heart flutter, but hearing him call him ‘baby’ made his dick twitch. Unlike ‘Dem’, ‘baby’ was something Demetri only heard when the two were in bed. As the heat coiled in his stomach, he dug his nails into Eli’s back, almost certain that he’d draw blood at any second.

With one final roll of his hips, Demetri threw his head back and groaned.

“Fuck, Eli!” He almost screamed, and it almost did Eli in. His hips stuttered and he whimpered, but he managed to hold off his own orgasm until Demetri was finished. He wasn’t lying; Demetri bit his lip and the veins in his neck stood out and a glow touched his face after a good orgasm. It was the single hottest, most erotic, and beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Demetri really was beautiful, his dark hair and pale skin clashing in the best way. Eli couldn’t help but be grateful that nobody else had noticed. It meant less competition.

As Demetri felt his muscles start to unclench, Eli’s own orgasm hit him. He set his head against Demetri’s chest and Demetri hugged him and dragged his fingertips over the back of his neck as he convulsed, his stomach muscles twitching as he rode out his orgasm.

The boy’s lips were back on Demetri’s before he could mutter a single syllable. He had a million things he wanted to say to Eli; thank you, I missed this, I missed _you_ , please tell me this wasn’t just a one-time thing, get off me because I need a shower. But he didn’t say any of those things. Not only because Eli didn’t give him the chance, but because he didn’t need to. If his best friend turned back into ‘Hawk’ in the morning, he’d deal with it in the morning. For now, the boy he loved was back, and he wasn’t about to waste a second while he still had seconds to spare.

********

The light still burned through closed eyes. He had forgotten how bright Demetri’s room was when the sun rose. The fact that he knew this house like the back of his hand, but was able to forget so fast made him sad. But he was still hopeful. And after all the emotions the pair had gone through last night, Eli had a feeling that Demetri wouldn’t let him forget again.

“Morning.”

The word was whispered in Eli’s ear, and he finally realized that there was an arm slung around his shoulders, a leg wrapped around his hips, and a chest pressed right up against his back.

“What time is it?” He asked sleepily, not yet wanting to open his eyes. Not when everything felt so perfect.

Demetri glanced at the clock beside his bed. “Almost eight.”

Eli half-groaned, half-laughed.

“And I want you to know that Sam has already texted me four times this morning, Miguel twice and I missed a FaceTime from Bert.”

“They just can’t get enough of you, huh?” Eli joked and finally opened his eyes. He set his hand over Demetri’s, which was curled up on Eli’s chest, and slipped his fingers between the boy’s.

“Something about planning out a training schedule,” Demetri elaborated as he pressed sweet, chaste kisses to the back of Eli’s neck.

Eli shivered at the lips on his skin. He always was ticklish, and Demetri took advantage of that as often as he could. “Not today. I don’t even wanna _think_ about karate today.”

Not think about karate? For an entire day? Yeah, that was definitely Eli and not ‘Hawk’. Another kiss was pressed to his neck, a little lower this time, and it made Eli gasp in pain. “Jesus, what was _that_?”

Demetri blushed. “A welt. A lot of them, actually. I kinda messed you up last night. I’m sorry.”

A lopsided smile crept onto Eli’s face, and he rolled over, still caged in Demetri’s arms and pulled Demetri in, wrapping his arms around the boy’s slim body and setting his head against his chest. “Don’t apologize. That’s the best kind of battle scar, if you ask me.” He tilted his head up and kissed Demetri, despite the other boy’s protests.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet!”

“I don’t care,” Eli teased, giving him a few more kisses before Demetri rolled onto his back, bringing Eli with him. Eli laid across the boy’s chest, not worrying about possibly poking the boy’s eyes out; sleep had destroyed the mohawk.

“I love you, too, Eli,” Demetri said after a moment, seemingly unprompted.

“Huh?” Eli asked with a furrow of his brows.

Demetri shrugged. “I never said it back to you last night. That was rude. So, I love you, too.”

Eli blushed and Demetri rubbed circles into his back, careful to avoid the angry welts. “You didn’t have to say it back, Dem,” He whispered, knowing Demetri could hear him. He kissed the boy’s chest once, sweetly. “I already know.”


End file.
